Ethnic history of the region of Vilnius
Encyclopedia
Following is a list of census
es that have been taken in the city of Vilnius
and its region
since 1897. The list is incomplete. Data are at times fragmentary.
in late 18th century, the state had been divided among its neighbours in what is known as the partitions of Poland
. Most of the lands that formerly constituted the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
were annexed by the Russian Empire
. While initially the lands around the city of Vilna
(Vilnius or Wilno) had a certain local autonomy, with local nobility
holding the same offices as prior to the partitions, after several secessionist revolts against the Russian Empire
, the Imperial government started to pursue a policy of both political and cultural assimilation of the newly-acquired lands (Russification
). Following the failed November Uprising
all traces of former Polish-Lithuanian statehood (like the Third Statute of Lithuania
and Congress Poland
) started to be replaced with their Russian counterparts, from the currency and units of measurement, to offices of local administration. The failed January Uprising
of 1864 further aggravated the situation, as the Russian authorities decided to pursue the policies of forcibly imposed Russification
. The discrimination of local inhabitants included restrictions and outright bans on usage of Polish, Lithuanian
(see Lithuanian press ban
), Belorussian and Ukrainian
(see Valuyev circular) languages. This however did not stop the Polonization
effort undertaken by the Polish patriotic leadership of the Vilna educational district even within the Russian Empire.
Despite that, the pre-19th century cultural and ethnic pattern of the area was largely preserved. In the process of the pre-19th century voluntary Polonization
, much of the local nobility, boyar
s and gentry of Ruthenian and Lithuanian origin adopted Polish language and culture. This was also true to the representatives of the then-nascent class of bourgeoisie
and the Catholic and Uniate clergy. At the same time, the lower strata of the society (notably the peasants) formed a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural mixture of Poles, Lithuanians, Jews and Ruthenians
, as well as a small yet notable population of immigrants from all parts of Europe, from Italy to Scotland and from the Low Countries
to Germany.
The data from different times shows the changes in languages. The Lithuanian speaking area was constantly on the decline, while Belarusian speaking area pro rata was on the increase. In the parishes to the southeast from Vilnius Belarusian positions as a language of junior generation started to strengthen at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century. The 20th century marks a sudden increase of Polish speaking people and pro rata decrease of Belarusian speakers. Lithuanian speaking islands remained in Dzyatlava, Lasduny, Gervyaty etc.
During the rule of the Russian tsars, the Lingua franca
remained Polish as it had been in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
. By the middle of 17th century most of the Lithuanian nobility
had started to also speak Polish. With passing time and changing circumstances Lithuanian, Ruthenian and Polish nobility merged politically and started to consider themselves to be citizens of one common state. For example Józef Piłsudski‘s father and mother by paternal line belonged to respectively Samogitian
descent Giniotai (sg. Giniotas; Polish Ginet) and Bilevičiai (sg. Bilevičius; Polish Billewicz< *Bilius) families. The surname Piłsudski is of toponymic origin.
Polonization, furthered by the clergy and spreading from the estates
and schools, was later also implemented by the Polish government. Many Lithuanian schools were closed. In 1938, the Polish administration left only two Lithuanian primary schools and one gymnasium
(the Gymnasium of Vytautas the Great
) in the entire area.
In 1897 the first Russian Empire Census
was held. The territory covered by the tables included large parts of today's Belarus
, that is the voblasts of Hrodna
, Vitebsk and Minsk. Its results are currently criticised with respect to the issue of ethnic composition, because the ethnicity was defined by language spoken. In many cases the reported language of choice was defined by general background (education, occupation), rather than ethnicity. Some results are also thought as skewed due to the facts that pidgin speakers were assigned to nationalities arbitrarily and the Russian military garrisons were counted in as permanent inhabitants of the area. Some historians point out the fact that the Russification
policies and persecution of ethnic minorities in Russia were added to the notion to subscribe Belarusians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Poles to the category of Russians.
As a result of World War I, almost all of the territory encompassing the present borders of modern Lithuania and Poland was occupied by the German Army
. On 9 March 1916, the German military authorities organized a census to determine the ethnic composition of their newly-conquered territories. Many Belarusian historians note that the Belarusian minority is not noted among the inhabitants of the city.
A similar census was organized for all of the territory of German-occupied Lithuania and the northern border of the territory was more or less correspondent to that of present-day Lithuania
, however its southern border was expanded greatly and ended near Brest-Litovsk
, and included the city of Białystok.
After the Polish-Bolshevik War and the Treaty of Riga, the eastern Polish border was largely established. In 1921 the first Polish census was held on territories under Polish control. However, Central Lithuania
, seized by the forces of General Lucjan Żeligowski
after a staged mutiny in 1920 was outside of the Polish borders and it was not until 22 March 1922, when the short-lived puppet state
of Poland, was annexed by Poland.
As a result, the Polish census of 20 September 1921 covered only parts of the future Wilno Voivodship area, that is the communes of Brasław, Duniłowicze, Dzisna
and Wilejka. The remaining part of the territory of Central Lithuania (that is the communes of Wilno, Oszmiana, Święciany and Troki) was covered by the additional census organised there in 1923. The tables on the right give the combined numbers for the area of Wilno Voivodship (Administrative Area of Wilno), taken during both the 1921 and 1923 censuses.
The 1931 Polish census was the first Polish census to measure the population of whole Wilno and Wilno Voivodship at once. It was organised on 9 December 1931 by the Main Statistical Office of Poland. However, in 1931 the question of nationality was replaced by two separate questions of religion worshipped and the language spoken at home. Because of that, it is sometimes argued that the "language question" was introduced to diminish the number of Jews, some of whom spoke Polish rather than Yiddish or Hebrew. The director of the census later admitted the results had been "tampered with". At the same time, Lithuanian authorities often argued that the large majority of Polish-speaking people were in fact Polonized
Lithuanians. The census is also seen as inaccurate due to bias against the Belorusians and Lithuanians. The table on the right shows the census findings on language. It should be noted that Wilno Voivodship did not include Druskininkai (Druskinieki) area and included just a small part of Varena (Orani) area where the majority of inhabitants were Lithuanians. The Voivodship, however, included Brasław, Dzisna, Mołodeczno, Oszmiana, Postawy and Wilejka counties which now belong to Belarus.
After the outbreak of the German-Soviet War
in 1941, the area of former Central Lithuania was quickly seized by the Wehrmacht
. On 27 May 1942 a new census was organised by the German authorities and the local Lithuanian collaborators. The details of the methodology used are unknown and the results of the census are commonly believed to be an outcome of the racial theories and beliefs of those who organised the census rather than the actual ethnic and national composition of the area. Among the most notable features is a complete lack of data on the Jewish inhabitants of the area (see Paneriai
for explanation) and a much lowered number of Poles, as compared to all the earlier censuses.
However, it should be noted that Wilna-Gebiet did not include Brasław, Dzisna, Mołodeczno, Postawy and Wilejka counties but included Svyren district (current Kaišiadorys and Elektrėnai municipalities. That explains the decline of number of Poles.
During 1955-1959 period, another 46,600 Poles left Lithuania. However, Lithuanian historians estimate that about 10 percent of people who left for Poland were ethnic Lithuanians. These are the results of the migration to Poland and the growth of the city due to industrial development and the Soviet Union
policy.
258,000 Poles in Lithuania, including 63.5% in the Vilnius rayon
(currently Vilnius district municipality
, excluding the city of Vilnius itself) and 79.5% in the rayon of Šalčininkai
(currently known as Šalčininkai district municipality
).
or Russian Jews are all applicable only in part. The majority of the Yiddish
speaking population used the Litvish dialect.
Educated Poles speak a language close to standard Polish. Northern-kresowy dialect of Polish is also spoken
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
es that have been taken in the city of Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
and its region
Vilnius region
Vilnius Region , refers to the territory in the present day Lithuania, that was originally inhabited by ethnic Baltic tribes and was a part of Lithuania proper, but came under East Slavic and Polish cultural influences over time,...
since 1897. The list is incomplete. Data are at times fragmentary.
Ethnic and national background
Since the first contact in the 9th century the Slavic (Ruthenian, later Belarusan and Ukraine) speaking areas have always bordered the vicinity of eastern Lithuania.After the partitions of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Following the decline of the Polish-Lithuanian CommonwealthPolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
in late 18th century, the state had been divided among its neighbours in what is known as the partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
. Most of the lands that formerly constituted the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
were annexed by the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. While initially the lands around the city of Vilna
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
(Vilnius or Wilno) had a certain local autonomy, with local nobility
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
holding the same offices as prior to the partitions, after several secessionist revolts against the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, the Imperial government started to pursue a policy of both political and cultural assimilation of the newly-acquired lands (Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
). Following the failed November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
all traces of former Polish-Lithuanian statehood (like the Third Statute of Lithuania
Statutes of Lithuania
The Statutes of Lithuania originally known as the Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were a 16th century codification of all the legislation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and its successor, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth...
and Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
) started to be replaced with their Russian counterparts, from the currency and units of measurement, to offices of local administration. The failed January Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
of 1864 further aggravated the situation, as the Russian authorities decided to pursue the policies of forcibly imposed Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
. The discrimination of local inhabitants included restrictions and outright bans on usage of Polish, Lithuanian
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
(see Lithuanian press ban
Lithuanian press ban
The Lithuanian press ban was a ban on all Lithuanian language publications printed in the Latin alphabet within the Russian Empire, which controlled Lithuania at the time. Lithuanian-language publications that used the Cyrillic alphabet were allowed and even encouraged...
), Belorussian and Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
(see Valuyev circular) languages. This however did not stop the Polonization
Polonization
Polonization was the acquisition or imposition of elements of Polish culture, in particular, Polish language, as experienced in some historic periods by non-Polish populations of territories controlled or substantially influenced by Poland...
effort undertaken by the Polish patriotic leadership of the Vilna educational district even within the Russian Empire.
Despite that, the pre-19th century cultural and ethnic pattern of the area was largely preserved. In the process of the pre-19th century voluntary Polonization
Polonization
Polonization was the acquisition or imposition of elements of Polish culture, in particular, Polish language, as experienced in some historic periods by non-Polish populations of territories controlled or substantially influenced by Poland...
, much of the local nobility, boyar
Boyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....
s and gentry of Ruthenian and Lithuanian origin adopted Polish language and culture. This was also true to the representatives of the then-nascent class of bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
and the Catholic and Uniate clergy. At the same time, the lower strata of the society (notably the peasants) formed a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural mixture of Poles, Lithuanians, Jews and Ruthenians
Ruthenians
The name Ruthenian |Rus']]) is a culturally loaded term and has different meanings according to the context in which it is used. Initially, it was the ethnonym used for the East Slavic peoples who lived in Rus'. Later it was used predominantly for Ukrainians...
, as well as a small yet notable population of immigrants from all parts of Europe, from Italy to Scotland and from the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
to Germany.
During the rule of the Russian tsars, the Lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
remained Polish as it had been in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
. By the middle of 17th century most of the Lithuanian nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
had started to also speak Polish. With passing time and changing circumstances Lithuanian, Ruthenian and Polish nobility merged politically and started to consider themselves to be citizens of one common state. For example Józef Piłsudski‘s father and mother by paternal line belonged to respectively Samogitian
Eldership of Samogitia
The Duchy of Samogitia had been the administrative unit of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1422 . Between 1422 to 1441 it was known as the Eldership of Samogitia...
descent Giniotai (sg. Giniotas; Polish Ginet) and Bilevičiai (sg. Bilevičius; Polish Billewicz< *Bilius) families. The surname Piłsudski is of toponymic origin.
Polonization, furthered by the clergy and spreading from the estates
Estate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
and schools, was later also implemented by the Polish government. Many Lithuanian schools were closed. In 1938, the Polish administration left only two Lithuanian primary schools and one gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
(the Gymnasium of Vytautas the Great
Vytautas the Great
Vytautas ; styled "the Great" from the 15th century onwards; c. 1350 October 27, 1430) was one of the most famous rulers of medieval Lithuania. Vytautas was the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which chiefly encompassed the Lithuanians and Ruthenians...
) in the entire area.
Russian census of 1897
Russian Empire Census
The Russian Imperial Census of 1897 was the first and the only census carried out in the Russian Empire . It recorded demographic data as of ....
was held. The territory covered by the tables included large parts of today's Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, that is the voblasts of Hrodna
Hrodna Voblast
Hrodna Voblast or Grodno Oblast is a voblast in northwestern Belarus.The capital - Grodno is the biggest city of the province. It lies on the Neman River. Grodno's existence is attested to from 1127. Two castles dating from the 14th - 18th centuries are located here on the steep right bank of...
, Vitebsk and Minsk. Its results are currently criticised with respect to the issue of ethnic composition, because the ethnicity was defined by language spoken. In many cases the reported language of choice was defined by general background (education, occupation), rather than ethnicity. Some results are also thought as skewed due to the facts that pidgin speakers were assigned to nationalities arbitrarily and the Russian military garrisons were counted in as permanent inhabitants of the area. Some historians point out the fact that the Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
policies and persecution of ethnic minorities in Russia were added to the notion to subscribe Belarusians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Poles to the category of Russians.
1916 German census
As a result of World War I, almost all of the territory encompassing the present borders of modern Lithuania and Poland was occupied by the German Army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
. On 9 March 1916, the German military authorities organized a census to determine the ethnic composition of their newly-conquered territories. Many Belarusian historians note that the Belarusian minority is not noted among the inhabitants of the city.
A similar census was organized for all of the territory of German-occupied Lithuania and the northern border of the territory was more or less correspondent to that of present-day Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, however its southern border was expanded greatly and ended near Brest-Litovsk
Brest, Belarus
Brest , formerly also Brest-on-the-Bug and Brest-Litovsk , is a city in Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the city of Terespol, where the Bug River and Mukhavets rivers meet...
, and included the city of Białystok.
1921 Polish census
After the Polish-Bolshevik War and the Treaty of Riga, the eastern Polish border was largely established. In 1921 the first Polish census was held on territories under Polish control. However, Central Lithuania
Central Lithuania
Central Lithuania may refer to:*Republic of Central Lithuania, a short-lived puppet state created in 1920 in the Vilnius Region*Geographical region of Lithuania, the central region in Lithuania around Kaunas, Kėdainiai, and Jonava...
, seized by the forces of General Lucjan Żeligowski
Zeligowski's Mutiny
Żeligowski's Mutiny was a sham mutiny led by Polish General Lucjan Żeligowski in October 1920, which resulted in the creation of the short-lived Republic of Central Lithuania. Polish Chief of State Józef Piłsudski had surreptitiously ordered Żeligowski to carry out the operation, and revealed the...
after a staged mutiny in 1920 was outside of the Polish borders and it was not until 22 March 1922, when the short-lived puppet state
Puppet state
A puppet state is a nominal sovereign of a state who is de facto controlled by a foreign power. The term refers to a government controlled by the government of another country like a puppeteer controls the strings of a marionette...
of Poland, was annexed by Poland.
As a result, the Polish census of 20 September 1921 covered only parts of the future Wilno Voivodship area, that is the communes of Brasław, Duniłowicze, Dzisna
Dzisna
Dzisna , is a town in the Vitsebsk Voblast of Belarus. It's located on the left bank of the Daugava River, near the confluence of Dysna. It has 2,700 inhabitants . The towns population has declined over the years; early in the 20th century it had close to 10,000 inhabitants....
and Wilejka. The remaining part of the territory of Central Lithuania (that is the communes of Wilno, Oszmiana, Święciany and Troki) was covered by the additional census organised there in 1923. The tables on the right give the combined numbers for the area of Wilno Voivodship (Administrative Area of Wilno), taken during both the 1921 and 1923 censuses.
Polish census of 1931
Polonization
Polonization was the acquisition or imposition of elements of Polish culture, in particular, Polish language, as experienced in some historic periods by non-Polish populations of territories controlled or substantially influenced by Poland...
Lithuanians. The census is also seen as inaccurate due to bias against the Belorusians and Lithuanians. The table on the right shows the census findings on language. It should be noted that Wilno Voivodship did not include Druskininkai (Druskinieki) area and included just a small part of Varena (Orani) area where the majority of inhabitants were Lithuanians. The Voivodship, however, included Brasław, Dzisna, Mołodeczno, Oszmiana, Postawy and Wilejka counties which now belong to Belarus.
Lithuanian census of 1939
In December 1939, shortly after their take-over of the area, the Lithuanian authorities organized a new census in the area. However, the census is often criticized as skewed, intending to prove the historical and moral rights of Lithuania to the disputed area, rather than to determine the factual composition. Lithuanian figures from that period are criticized as significantly inflating the number of Lithuanians.German-Lithuanian census of 1942
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
in 1941, the area of former Central Lithuania was quickly seized by the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
. On 27 May 1942 a new census was organised by the German authorities and the local Lithuanian collaborators. The details of the methodology used are unknown and the results of the census are commonly believed to be an outcome of the racial theories and beliefs of those who organised the census rather than the actual ethnic and national composition of the area. Among the most notable features is a complete lack of data on the Jewish inhabitants of the area (see Paneriai
Paneriai
Paneriai is a neighborhood of Vilnius, situated about 10 kilometres away from the city center. It is the largest elderate in the Vilnius city municipality. It is located on low forested hills, on the Vilnius-Warsaw road...
for explanation) and a much lowered number of Poles, as compared to all the earlier censuses.
However, it should be noted that Wilna-Gebiet did not include Brasław, Dzisna, Mołodeczno, Postawy and Wilejka counties but included Svyren district (current Kaišiadorys and Elektrėnai municipalities. That explains the decline of number of Poles.
Soviet census of 1959
During 1944-1946 period about 50% of the registered Poles in Lithuania were transferred to Poland. Dovile Budryte estimates that about 150,000 people left the country.During 1955-1959 period, another 46,600 Poles left Lithuania. However, Lithuanian historians estimate that about 10 percent of people who left for Poland were ethnic Lithuanians. These are the results of the migration to Poland and the growth of the city due to industrial development and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
policy.
Soviet census of January 1989
258,000 Poles in Lithuania, including 63.5% in the Vilnius rayon
Rayon
Rayon is a manufactured regenerated cellulose fiber. Because it is produced from naturally occurring polymers, it is neither a truly synthetic fiber nor a natural fiber; it is a semi-synthetic or artificial fiber. Rayon is known by the names viscose rayon and art silk in the textile industry...
(currently Vilnius district municipality
Vilnius district municipality
Vilnius district municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. It surrounds the capital on 3 sides, and the Trakai district municipality touches it on one....
, excluding the city of Vilnius itself) and 79.5% in the rayon of Šalčininkai
Šalcininkai
Šalčininkai is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, situated south-east of Vilnius, near the border with Belarus.Šalčininkai received its city rights in 1956 and is now a capital of the Šalčininkai district municipality. Šalčininkai features a multi-ethnic population of Poles , Lithuanians ,...
(currently known as Šalčininkai district municipality
Šalcininkai district municipality
Šalčininkai district municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania.It has one of biggest Polish minority populations in Lithuania, with 31,223 or over 80% of the population claiming Polish ethnicity. Šalčininkai is the largest town in and the center of the region.-References:...
).
Lithuanian census of 2001
Jews of Vilnius
The Jews living in Vilnius had their own complex identity, and labels of Polish Jews, Lithuanian JewsLithuanian Jews
Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks are Jews with roots in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania:...
or Russian Jews are all applicable only in part. The majority of the Yiddish
Yiddish dialects
Yiddish dialects are varieties of the Yiddish language. These dialects are divided by originating region in Europe. Northeastern "Litvish" Yiddish was dominant in twentieth-century Yiddish culture and academia, while Southern dialects of Yiddish are now the most commonly spoken, preserved by many...
speaking population used the Litvish dialect.
The situation today
Some speakers in the area today speak a language known as po prostu, and they consider this language to be purely Polish. Colloquial Polish in Lithuania includes dialectic qualities and is influenced by other languages.Educated Poles speak a language close to standard Polish. Northern-kresowy dialect of Polish is also spoken
External links
- Theodore R. Weeks, From “Russian” to “Polish”: Vilna-Wilno 1900–1925
- Lithuanian-Belarusian language boundary in the 4th decade of the 19th century
- Lithuanian-Belarusian language boundary at the beginning of the 20th century
- List of the XIXth century Suwałki region family names
- 1921 and 1931 censuses (DOC), HTML
- Repatriation and Resettlement of Ethnic Poles
- std.lt 2001 census (PDF) std.lt In English
- vilniaus-r.lt